The Legend of Team Victory
by Moon the Eevee
Summary: A boy named Slash ends up in the world of Pokemon, turns into a Totodile, and has no memory. With his new friend, Fang the Riolu, the two set off on the craziest adventure Slash has ever experienced. A novelization of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky. POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
1. The Storm

Chapter 1 The Storm

I couldn't remember very much from that accident. All I know it was the worst moment of my life (or maybe the best, I don't know). That accident turned me into a Pokémon, and gave me the wackiest adventure yet. I'll tell you all I can remember on that fateful day.

I remember hearing wind and thunder, rain was lashing at my face. It was pitch black; I couldn't even see my own hand in front of my face. There was a lightning flash, which engulfed my vision in a blinding white light for a second, and then it was back to darkness. Then, I heard a lizard-like voice call out. I couldn't see him though. And I felt something grasping my wrists.

"Hey! Wh-Whoa!" the voice called out. "Are you… okay?"

Another lightning flash engulfed my vision for a second with its blinding light. I felt whatever was holding me was losing its grip.

"No! Don't slip now! We're almost there, hang on, please!" the voice sounded desperate.

Yet another lightning flash and I felt the grip on my finger tips now.

"N-no! Can't… hold on… much… longer…" said the voice.

I saw two more lightning flashes, and the thing lost my hold entirely.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I screamed.

"Slash, NO!" the voice screamed back.

Another bright light appeared and I landed in something wet and icy. Water, I realized with a jolt. I swam to the surface, quick as I could. My head broke the surface and I managed to get a breath of air before a big wave sent me crashing below the waves. Quickly, I swam up again and broke the surface. Now, I could see.

There were huge dark waves of water, thunder and lightning, and a bunch of torrential downpour. I struggled for breath, struggling against the waves as they tried to have me drowned. I spotted something in the distance. I believe it was a shadow of some sort. I knew right away that had to be land, it just had to be. If that was land I'm saved. If that's my imagination, I'm doomed.

So, using my last drop of energy, I swam towards the dark shapes in the distance. When I finally reached them, I found out it really was land. With sweet relief, I collapsed on the sand, exhausted. Then, I blacked out.

xxxxx

Sometime later….

I was regaining consciousness. I heard waves crashing right below my feet, and my body felt numb and stiff with cold.

"Ughhh…." I said dazedly and groggily opened an eye. The sky was no longer a dark color, I heard no more thunder, and didn't feel any rain on my face. Instead, there was a bright blue sky with white, soft-as-a-marshmallow- clouds, and some stony cliffs.

My head felt like it was filled with cotton. I couldn't remember anything.

Wh-where am I, I thought to myself. Is this Heaven...?

My eyes slowly begin to close.

No… must stay conscious… no… don't… drift off….

Those were my last thoughts before I blacked out entirely again.

xxxxx

Meanwhile…

Under the twilight sky, a lone Pokémon stood in front of a large tent shaped like a Wigglytuff. It had torches on either side and had a large grate in front of it.

Yeah, that was me. Fang. Fang the Riolu.

"Hmmm…" I said to myself and paced around restlessly. I was trying to decide whenever I should go into the tent or just leave like all the other times.

"Alright, alright. Breathe in… breathe out… breathe in… breathe out…" I said as inhaled and exhaled. This always makes me feel better. Finally, I stopped.

"No. I'm not backing out again. I'm gonna do it! This is it; I'm gonna steel my courage today and not pee myself from fear like I did that… one time…." I told myself confidently. I cautiously walked towards the grate. As soon as my feet touched it a loud, squeaky voice emitted from under the grate.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" the voice called.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" another much louder voice called.

"The footprint is Riolu's. The footprint is Riolu's!" the squeaky voice called again.

I jumped back, startled by this whole incident.

"Eeeep!" I squealed. I looked around anxiously, checking for any more strange Pokémon. "That was waaaaayyyy too shocking! Sheesh. They didn't have to be so loud." I looked at the tent longingly; I knew I just spoiled my chance-again. I sighed.

"I can't… I just can't do it to get in… I'm too chicken to even last three seconds on that grate. I said to myself 30 times that this is it but…" I told myself miserably and took out my personal treasure, a strange stone that I like to call my Relic Fragment. "I thought hanging on to this thing would make me braver but… I-I just can't do it. I'll never become a guild explorer. Ever."

I sighed, put my Relic Fragment away, and walked away from the grate, away from the tent, away from my dream. It was then two shady characters emerged from the bushes behind me.

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're probably saying that how I'm able to remember something that I didn't see. Look, I'm a Riolu, I can sense other peoples' auras (the energy you radiate) from some distance away okay.

Anyway, the shady creatures who emerged were a Koffing and a Zubat.

"Hey Scraps, did ya get a loud of that?" the Koffing asked his companion.

"You bet I did, Gassy." said Scraps.

"That lil' wimp was pacing around like some loser… and he took out that thingy, right?"

"What thingy?"

Gassy looked a bit annoyed. "That rock thingy."

"Oh yeah, yeah. He did have a lil' something-something. It looked like some sort of artifact or priceless treasure. If we get our hands on that, we could be rich, Gassy, rich!" Scraps exclaimed.

"Do we go after that wimp?"

"Yes we do."

The two Pokémon nodded at each other and followed after me.

xxxxx

I walked sadly along the nearby beach, still upset about the incident at the explorer guild. Then, I saw some Krabby crawl out of their dens to blow some bubbles. The hundreds of bubbles floated over the dark blue sea, glistening and glittering in the dying rays of the setting sun. I looked at the bubbles and gasped in wonder. Even though I've seen this millions of times, it never gets old. I stared at the bubbles, mystified.

"Wow, what a pretty sight. When the weather's good, the Krabby come out to blow some bubbles. All those bubbles capture the rays of the sun off the waves. It's always an amazing sight." I said a loud to no one in particular. I stared at the bubbles some more in silence, and then sighed.

"I always come here when I'm in low sprits. This sight always cheers me up, shows me there will be a tomorrow." I said. I looked towards the coastline and saw a whole bunch of shells. "I could go shell collecting, that always helps me relax too."

So, I walked along and picked up conches, sea dollars, and anything else interesting. It was then I spotted him.

"Who's that… oh my Arceus! Someone's collapsed on the sand! I better go check it out!" I dropped my shells in shock, forgetting all about them, and rushed towards the figure lying on the sand. When I reached him I began to shake him.

"Hey! Are you… alright? You're not dead are you?" I called.

xxxxx

I stirred and opened my eyes part way. I saw this black and blue creature with red eyes; he looked worried. An angel? I thought to myself. Nah. Angels have wings… and maybe a halo. "Urff…." I grumbled and pushed myself upright. For some reason, I felt… smaller. The black and blue creature sighed with relief. I looked around cluelessly.

"Wha… what the heck happened to me? Where- where am I?" I said blankly.

"Oh thank Arceus your awake! You weren't moving at all. I thought you were dead, no offence." said the creature.

Wait, this creature talked? "None taken." I replied strangely

"So… don't you remember how you ended up here? You were unconcious." asked the creature.

"Unconsious? I… wait I was? Whaa?" I said. I was pretty confused.

"Well anyway," the creasture continued. "the name's Fang, Fang the Riolu. Nice to meetcha! I've never seen your kind around these parts."

"Well, actually," I said puffing my chest. "I'm a human being." An expression of shock crossed Fang's face.

"What? A human? Don't make me laugh. You look like a perfectly normal Totodile to me." said Fang, a bit confused.

Totodile? What is he talking about? I thought to myself. I looked at myself anyway. My skin was an unnatural shade of baby blue and scaly, pink spines were trailing down my back to a stubby tail. I had three toed feet, and a long snout with tiny fangs growing out of it. I was scared out of my skin. "H-holy crap, its true! I've turned into a Toto-what-is-it." I yelped in horror. But how, how did this happen? Ugh, stupid amnesia! I thought to myself. I've noticed Fang looked a little suspicious.

"You're… weird. Are you pulling my leg or something?" asked the Emanation Pokemon nervously.

"What! No! Why would I anyway!" I snapped.

"Sheesh, you didn't have to yell. But you do seem serious. And you are? Your name?" Fang asked.

My name, I thought. The only two things I remember is that big storm and that voice saying 'Slash no!'. Was the voice referring to me? So I turned to the Fighting-type Pokemon and said, "My name is Slash. Slash-the-human-who-had-been-turned-into-a-Pokemon." Fang craked a smile.

"I see, Slash is your name? Okay. Well you don't seem to be bad. Real sorry I doubted you. More and more bad Pokemon are popping up, you see. There are so many, the Magent Police are havig a hard time trying to keep up. Things are kinda lawless now…"

Just then, a Koffing and a Zubat, whose names I later learned were Gassy and Scraps, came up from behind Fang and gave him a hard push. He fell flat on his face and dropped something in the process.

"Yowch!" he yelped.

"Oh terribly sorry, didn't see ya there." Gassy apologized mockingly.

Fang jumped up to his defence, clenching his fist in anger. "Why the heck did you do that! That was mean!" he said angerly.

Scraps smirked. "Heh-heh-heh. What, too stupid to figure it out. We wanted to mess with you! Could you face up with us? Oh wait, you can't cause your too chiken."

Fang was shocked. "What?"

Scraps gestured towards the object Fang dropped. "Ain't that yours?"

"No! Wait! That's-"

But Scraps interrupted Fang before he could finish. "Sorry kid, were taking that." Gassy picked up the object.

Fang looked like he was about to faint. "Aaaaaaaaagggghhhhhhhh!" he sreamed.

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Gassy bellowed. "Not gonna make a move to get it back? I thought you'd put up more of a fight, but your just a big coward like everyone else. C'mon Scraps, let's get outta here."

"Later, chiken. Heh-heh-heh." Scraps jeered. The duo of thieves pushed us outf the way and entered some sort of cave. I looked at the devastated Riolu.

"Ohhh… what should I do?" Fang moaned


	2. New Friends, New Foes

Chapter 2 New Friends, New Foes

"That was my personal treasure. It's the only thing of value I posses and it means everything to me. If I lose that…" he suddenly shook his head and looked fiercely determined. "No! There's no time to waste! I have to get it back no matter what! Please, Slash, I'm begging you… help me!" he said. And just for good measure, he gave me the puppy eyes.

I really wanted to say no, I confess. I have no idea where I am and who I am or who this Pokémon even is. But, the puppy eyes have done their job.

"Okay." I finally said. Fang's eyes filled with joy.

"R-really?" Fang said merrily. "You'll help? Th-Thank you! Let's go right away!" So he sprinted off with me at his heels.

So, we followed Scraps and Gassy into a nearby beach cave. Inside, it was damp and humid, like that of a foggy summer morning. The walls were made of stone, smooth and slick. It smelled of the sea and small puddles of seawater were scattered throughout the cave. Some water dripped from the ceiling. Just then, Fang recoiled at something and pinched his nose.

"P.U.! What's that awful smell?" Fang complained. A bit confused, I lifted my snout and took a sniff.

The smell that hit my nostrils almost made me faint. It smelled of sweaty gym socks in a locker that's been left in there for a few days. I too pinched my snout.

"I think that's that Koffing's scent trail. We might have to follow it 'cause the two of them don't have footprints ya know." I said to Fang.

"Wh-What!" Fang whined. "Fine, if it means getting my treasure back from those thieves."

So, with great difficulty, we took our claws and paws off our noses and began following that horrible scent trail. As we scented our way towards the thieves, I was beginning to feel a little sick in the stomach, even Fang looked a bit ill. After what felt like hours of sniffing, we reached the pit of the cave.

Inside the pit, it looked much different than the cave. Actually, it looked like a mini beach. There was crystal blue water surrounding soft, sugar spun white sand, like a mini island. Some small red cliffs dotted the area, with some patches of kudzu vines growing on them. At the end of the "beach" were two very familiar Pokémon. Fang recognized them immediately.

"Uh… hey!" Fang called. The two Pokémon looked up and turned to face Fang. It was those two Pokémon, Scraps the Zubat and Gassy the Koffing.

"Well… if it ain't our good old friend, the chicken." Gassy jeered.

Fang squeezed his eyes shut against the insult and took a step back, a bit scared. Finally, he yelled, "You… give back what you stole from me! That's my treasure and it means the whole world to me!"

Scraps smirked. "Oh, so it really is treasure and not some dumb rock. Must mean its pretty valuable, yes?" he said slyly.

"This could be worth a king's fortune, I'd say. We could try selling it, might get a nice price." said Gassy. "Even more reason not to hand it back. Whoa-ho-ho!"

Fang clenched his fist. "I'll fight for it if I have to, you pieces of crap!" he snapped angrily.

"Fine, if you want it that badly… come and get it!" Scraps snapped back, a bit annoyed by the little black and blue Pokémon's determination.

"Alright, that's it! You quit bullying that Riolu!" I yelled and shot the Koffing and Zubat a Leer attack while Fang prepared himself with Endure.

"Looks like the quiet one wants to fight too! Alright, I'll give ya a fight you won't forget!" Scraps snapped and shot a needle thing out of his mouth at my face. I blocked it with my arm, but began to feel drained. I quickly removed the needle and scratched Scraps' face in revenge.

Fang wasn't doing as good as me though. Gassy kept beating him up with his Tackle attack. Forgetting Scraps for a second, I aimed a Scratch attack at Gassy. That gave Fang enough time to recuperate and hit Gassy with a Quick Attack.

Turning my attention back to the Bat Pokémon, I unleashed a fury of Scratch attacks at his face. Finally, Scraps plummeted to the ground. He had fainted. Now, Gassy was doomed.

Both Fang and I slowly approached the Poison Gas Pokémon. Gassy, noticing his fallen friend on the ground, quickly forfeited the match.

Fang walked up to the Poison type Pokémon and said, "Now cough up what's mine." The terrified Koffing dropped the stone object out of his mouth into Fang's waiting paws.

"Here, take your stupid rock back. Have fun with it." Gassy said bitterly.

"Y-Yeah…." said Scraps, painfully pushing himself up from the sand. I was surprised at how quickly he regained consciousness. His face was bleeding from all the Scratch attacks I gave him as he spoke. "Just remember that your victory was a fluke. You just sit tight, we'll be back and next time we'll show no mercy." said Scraps tightly and, leaning heavily on Gassy, the two thieves raced away.

"My Relic Fragment!" Fang cried jollily and did a little happy dance, despite all the bruises he had. I smiled. Looks like you did the right thing after all, Slash, I said to myself.

xxxxx

Later, at the beach…

"Thanks, seriously!" said Fang. That was like the three-hundredth time he said that as we excited the cave. He placed the stone object that Gassy and Scraps stole on the ground. "This is my Relic Fragment, my most prized possession. Yeah, it does look like a piece of junk, but look closer." I stepped a bit closer.

Fang was right. This was more than a piece of junk. A strange pattern was inscribed on top of the stone. I… I couldn't really describe what it looked like. A bird, maybe?

"I always get excited about legends and lore, ever since I was very little…." said Fang, almost to himself. He was staring at the ocean. "I wanted to discover even more, so I decided to join Wigglytuff's Guild. But, I got too scared…. Slash, if you're not going anywhere, can I ask you something? Do you… do you want to form an exploration team? I mean, we're a great combination and you lost your memory…"

I really didn't know what to say. I could say no but… then what? I mean this Pokémon seemed pretty nice. I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay with this guy a little while. Maybe I could find out something about myself. Okay, it's settled.

"Sure, I'd love to." I said. Fang's eyes widened with shock and delight.

"R-Really? Thank you! Well, we better go to Wigglytuff's guild and sign up. We're going to be awesome, I know it!" the Emanation Pokémon said joyfully. "We will be…"

"VICTORIOUS!" We both screamed together and slammed our fists in the air.

(End of Chapter 2)


	3. New Apprentices

(Disclaimer: This is a fan-fiction. I don't own PMD, Pokémon belongs to Game Freak. Insert more legal stuff here.)

Chapter 3 New Apprentices

The next evening…

Fang and I stood in front of a large tent that had a pink Wigglytuff head and ears that seemed to touch the sky. I was creeped out at how that tent was kind of leering at us.

"This is Wigglytuff's Explorer Guild. To make an exploration team we gotta register here and train to be number one." Fang explained. We both looked at the grate. The Fighting-type Pokémon looked uneasy.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Well, is this place a little… odd to you?" Fang asked nervously.

Yes, the tent is creepy. "No why?" I fibbed. We were quiet for a while. Then Fang hesitantly walked over to the grate. As soon as he placed his feet on the grate, a loud, shrill, squeaky voice emitted from below.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" the voice squeaked.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" a much louder, deeper voice boomed.

"The footprint is Riolu's! The footprint is Riolu's!" the squeaky voice replied. I've noticed Fang had been shivering this whole time.

"ENTER!" the louder voice boomed. "And get your little friend to stand on the grate, TOO!"

Fang gingerly stepped off the grate and looked at me nervously. "I think that's your cue, Slash…" he whispered. I looked at the grate. It seemed to be made of reeds and had stones surrounding it. They want me to step on_ that_?

"HEY! You deaf or something? Get on the freaking' GRATE!" the louder voice yelled. It sounded angry too. Okay, okay, geez… I thought to myself, annoyed. The two voices say the same things that they said to Fang when I stepped on. But this time, the squeaky voice stutters.

"The footprint… it's… uhh…."

"Sentry! Sentry Wart the Digglet, what's up!" the louder voice called. I peered into the grate and saw this little brown Pokémon which looked like a thumb sticking out of the ground. I guessed that's Wart.

"Uh…i-it's… perhaps a Totodile?"

"Watcha mean PREHAPS?"

"B-but, it's a footprint I've never seen before…."

"Yeah, GREAT work Wart…."

"S-sorry!"

Fang and I looked at each other a bit confused about this whole incident. I really had no idea what was going on. Finally, the louder voice spoke up.

"SORRY 'bout that! You may ENTER!" the loud voice boomed. A large black gate made of iron yawned open. "Whoa…" Fang and I said in awe.

"Yeah, we're allowed in! My heart's beating like crazy though…." Fang said joyously. So, both of us enter the tent and emerge into some kind of room with a reed ladder going down. Both of us climbed down the ladder and into another room.

xxxxx

This room had a bunch of Pokémon of all shapes, sizes, and types. Two big boards with pictures of Pokémon and numbers pinned on them were on opposite sides of the room. Fang and I walked forward a little bit, stinging with curiosity. Suddenly a shrill, parrot-like voice filled the room.

"Helloooooo!" the voice called, drawing out the word. I turned around and this Flying-type, parrot-like Pokémon with a music note shaped head was walking towards us.

"You two have just come in, yes?" the Pokémon asked. Fang and I nod. "Well then, I am Chatter the Chatot. I'm pretty plugged in and I'm Guildmaster Velvet's right-hand-man. Now go home. This isn't some kind of tourist attraction, ya know." said Chatter and gestured at us with a glossy blue wing to leave.

"W-wait! We're not tourists. We want to become an exploration team." Fang explained quickly.

An expression of shock ruffled the Chatot's feathers. "WHAAAAT!" Chatter screeched. He suddenly turned away from us and began murmuring to himself. "… rare… kid… training… very difficult… run away…." I was starting to wonder if Chatter was a bit… crazy.

"Uh… is really that bad?" I asked anxiously. The Flying-type Pokémon suddenly whipped around to face us and looked unexpectedly cheerful. "Oh no! Our training's easy as pie! I wish you would've told me you wanted to join sooner! Tweet-hee-hee!" Fang and I exchanged awkward looks. This Flying-type Pokémon was really starting to scare me now.

"Alright youngsters, follow me!" called Chatter cheerfully. The Fighting-type and I hesitate, but then follow the Music Note Pokémon down another hatch.

xxxxx

We all enter another room. There was still some Pokémon here but it was more spaced out. Suddenly, Fang looked delighted and ran towards a window. "Wow! We're underground yet you could see outside." he said. Chatter just rolled his eyes.

"Of course you can, the guild's built on the outside of a cliff, ya know." said the Flying-type firmly. The Emanation Pokémon looked down at his feet, embarrassed.

"Ahem…." Chatter continued. "Since we will be entering Guildmaster Velvet's chamber you must be ETREMELY polite to him. Please…." He turned to the door. "Guildmaster…" Chatter called sweetly and entered into a chamber with Fang and me not far behind.

xxxxx

We enter a room with two torches at the back, a couple of chests filled with (I think) toys, and a lone pink Wigglytuff sat with his back turned to us on a blue plush mat. "Ahem, Guildmaster, these two Pokémon would like to be made apprentices." said Chatter in a business-like voice.

Nothing happened. Okay, this place just gets weirder and weirder…

"Guildma-." Chatter began, but he was interrupted when the Wigglytuff suddenly turned around. Yup, this place just got weirder.

"Howdy! I'm Guildmaster Velvet the Wigglytuff, but call me Velvet. If you wanna make an exploration team you gotta give me your exploration team name!" said Velvet joyously.

"Uh, our name?" I asked. "Um, yes, our name is… uh…." The memory of Fang and I defeating Scraps and Gassy came flooding back. "Our name is… Team Victory." I said. Finally, that was a lot tougher than I thought, I said to myself.

"Alrighty, then! I'll register your name as Team Victory! Registering, registering… YOOM- TAH!" Velvet suddenly screeched. Shessh, what's up with people these days, I thought. Then, Velvet gave us a huge smile. "Congrats, ya'll now Team Victory! Present time!" he sang. The Wigglytuff reached into his chest and took out a purple bag with blue tissue paper inside. He set it on the floor in front of us. "Open it!" Velvet said excitedly.

Fang and I (some-what reluctantly) reached into the bag and took out two white Pokeballs with wings, a map, and a leather bag.

"Cool…." Fang and I said almost the same time. "That white thing's your Explorer badge, your team's identity, the ever so handy Wonder Map and the lovely Treasure Bag. Take a look inside the Treasure Bag." the Normal-type explained.

I peeked inside and found a Joy Ribbon and a Purple Ribbon. Okay, seriously, did these people think I'm a girl? They could've at least put a bandana or something cool in there. I really wanted to throw the stupid ribbons away, but I couldn't do it now with Chatter and Velvet watching. Maybe later….

"Those two items are special, keep 'em forever!" said Velvet cheerfully. Yeah, like that's gonna happen…. "Now do your best to train!"

"We will!" said Fang. The Fighting-type and I rammed our fists. And at that point, I forgot about dumping the ribbons.

xxxxx

That night…

The full moon was high in the sky that night. Fang was fast asleep- snoring peacefully. We were just talking. After Chatter gave us a speech about being a good and responsible exploration team, he sent us to our room. It wasn't much, just a space with a dirt floor, a small window, and two straw beds (at least they were clean). I decided not to throw the ribbons away, but instead I hung them up in our room. Wasn't much but, hey, what can you do.

Anyway, Fang was just talking to me about how was so excited and scared today and how he couldn't wait for tomorrow. Then as soon he was done chatting, he fell asleep. I still lay awake and watched the moon.

Fang was right, today was fun, I thought to myself. With this I could out who I really am. A new adventure awaits…. And I fell asleep.

(End of Ch.3. **PLEASE REVIEW**! Thank you for reading!)


	4. Morning Calls

(This is a fan-fiction. I don't own PMD, Pokémon belongs to GameFreak. Insert more legal stuff here.)

Chapter 4 Morning Calls

The next morning…

I was asleep, far into a dream (which I forgot what it was about but I do remember it involved cotton candy) when suddenly; there was this very, _very_ loud voice.

"HEY! HEY! RISE AND SHINE!" the voice screamed. I clamped my claws over my ear holes. Ugh, just let me sleep! That voice is so ridiculously loud. I thought to myself angrily. And for some reason, it sounded strangely familiar…

"Why are you still SLEEPING? WAKE UP!" the voice screeched again. I heard Fang groan next to me.

"Ahh, my ears…. What sort of wake-up call is that?" I heard him complain. I opened my eyes and saw this indigo colored Pokémon with a huge mouth and small, radio speaker-like ears. He must have noticed me because he said a little more quietly (but it still was loud).

"I'm Stereo the Loudred, and I'm the LOUDEST apprentice. I'm the person who does the wake up calls around here, so Guildmaster doesn't lose his temper. If he does…" Stereo began trembling.

"I can see, well, hear that!" I yelled above the severe ringing in my ears.

"Anyway…" Stereo continued. "WE'RE ALL COOKED IF YOU DON'T COME TO MORNING CALLS, SO GET ON SCHEDULE! OR YOU HAVE GUILDMASTER VELVET TO DEAL WITH!" And with a loud huff, he walked away, leaving Fang and I stunned.

Thank god, that's over…. I grumbled to myself as the ringing in my ears began to die down.

"Well that's not the most pleasant way to start the day…" said Fang as he slowly rose to his paws, his voice thick with sleep. Suddenly, he shot straight up and turned to look at me.

"Urk!" Fang swallowed nervously and turned to look out the window. The sun was just pushing itself out of the ground, so I guessed it was about 5:30 in the morning. I hated getting woken up early…

"Slash, we're apprentices now…so…that means…." Fang's eyes widened in panic. "Oh geez, we overslept! C-Come on!" Fang yelped and darted towards Morning Calls.

"Hey! Slow down!" I called and raced after the rushed Pokémon.

xxxxx

We enter the spaced room we were in yesterday when we were apprenticed. Except this time, a whole lot of Pokémon were gathered there. As Fang and I found our place at the edge of the group of assembled Pokémon, Stereo spotted us.

"YOUR LATE ROOKIES!" Stereo's voice boomed at us. Chatter, who was in front of the group addressing us, flapped his glossy blue wings impatiently.

"Quiet! Your voice is ridiculously loud!" Chatter snapped. Stereo mumbled something to himself and looked down at his feet, embarrassed. A few Pokémon, including me, giggled. Chatter once again flapped his wings to quiet everyone.

"Alright, it seems everyone is here. Well then, let's do our morning calls. Guildmaster! We're waiting for you!" The Flying type called sweetly.

Nothing happened.

Suddenly, the door flung open and out emerged Velvet the Wigglytuff.

"Thank you Guildmaster, please address the crew." said Chatter politely.

Velvet didn't say anything. Instead, even though his eyes were open, was snoring loudly. A single drop of drool oozed from Velvet's open mouth and dropped onto the floor. I heard a bunch of anxious whispering from the assembled Pokémon. Fang and I shared a worried glance.

Chatter flapped his wings to silence the group.

"Err… thanks Guildmaster for your… uh… words of encouragement! All right everyone take that encouragement to heart. And don't forget the morning cheers. And everyone starting cheering the most annoying cheer I have ever heard.

"ONE! DON'T SHRINK WORK! TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY! THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!" everyone screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Now… get to work!" Chatter ordered.

"YEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" everyone screamed again and the group disbanded to do their jobs. Velvet walked back into his chamber. Fang and I stayed behind, wondering what to do.

"So, what now?" Fang asked me.

"Dunno. Follow 'em, I guess." I replied. We started to follow the others when suddenly Chatter stopped us.

"Hey, Slash and Fang, don't jut wander over there. I've got something in store for both of you. Follow me." the Music Note Pokémon called to us and began hopping up the reed ladder. Fang and me looked at each other curiously and followed Chatter upstairs.

xxxxx

We all enter the room with the two big bulletin boards. Chatter led us to the one on the left.

"Your just beginners. So, we'll start you guys off with something easy." Chatter said to us. He turned to the bulletin board.

"This is the Job Bulletin Board. Pokémon from all different regions post jobs up here." said Chatter and gestured with a wing at the papers of jobs and requests pinned on the board. He turned back to us, his face wearing a serious expression. That can't be good.

"You're both aware that more and more bad Pokémon are popping up, yes?" asked the Flying- type solemnly.

"Yup," Fang piped up. "It's because time's going haywire, right. But, isn't that just a rumor?"

Time, I said to myself. What did they mean by that? Do they mean hours and minutes? That's why there are more and more bad Pokémon? That…doesn't make any sense...

"Yes Fang," Chatter's parrot-like voice snapped me back into reality. "It is a rumor, but I suspect it's real. Time going out of control not only made more bad Pokémon appear, it also created…mystery dungeons. Perhaps because of that, there has been a sharp increase in jobs."

"Okay, I'm a bit confused. What exactly is a mystery dungeon anyway?" I asked. The two Pokémon looked at me like I was some sort of idiot.

"Hey, that reminds me. Slash, do you remember when I got my Relic Fragment back. We found it in the pit of a mystery dungeon." Fang said to me.

"But wasn't it just an ordinary cave?" I argued.

"Not just any cave. A mystery dungeon changes every time you go in. They're always new discoveries to be made. They're really cool places to go exploring."

Chatter flapped his wings excitedly. "Well, youngster, you're quite informed. Now that's out of the way, I'll pick an assignment fit for you both." said the Flying-type. He turned to the large bulletin board for a moment, scanning each request. Finally, he handed Fang a sheet of paper.

"Okay, uh, let's see here… ahem…." Fang began reading the note.

"'Hello, my name is Spring! A thief has run off with my most valued possession, my pink pearl! That little round jewel means everything to me; including life itself… no seriously, I can't even battle without it! I'm a springing mess… but, I believe it has been sighted! In a place called the Drenched Bluff, but it's dangerous! Readers, PLEASE return my pearl! **PLEASE**! From, Spring the Spoink'."

After, he was done reading it, Fang looked a bit confused. He turned the paper upside down and sideways looking for something.

"That's it?" he asked. The Fighting type suddenly looked angry. "We're just going to pick up an item some idiot dropped? Come on, can we do something a bit more fun?" Fang said, his voice rising. Chatter flapped his wings in annoyance.

"Quit your whining!" The Music Note Pokémon snapped wearily. Fang and I flinched at his harsh tone.

"It's important you two rookies pay your dues and do the job! If you understood that, get on with it! Drenched Bluff isn't too far away, so you should be able to find it." Chatter said firmly.

"Oh boy…." I grumbled to myself.

(End of Ch.4 **PLEASE REVIEW**!)

...

**Halfmoon22: Uh, sorry about the delay. I kept having writers block. (Ugh, I hate that) I whould really appreciate it if you tell me where I need to tweak up. Thanks! Bye for now and thanks for reading!**


	5. Pearl Hunting

(This is a fan-fiction. I don't own Pokémon, Pokémon belongs to Game Freak. Insert more legal stuff here.)

Chapter 5 Pearl Hunting

Following the directions on the letter, Fang and I eventually find a place with lots of mossy boulders and tall grass.

"This must be the entrance to the Drenched Bluff." said Fang. He looked at the letter again before stuffing it back into the Treasure Bag. "The letter says the pearl is way down at the pit of the bluff. This looks like a dangerous place, so let's be careful."

"Gottcha. Let's go." I said. So the two of us went into the cave, but we had a surprise. A large gorge seemed to split the cave in two. The rocks were wet and slippery and they had wet moss that made a squishing sound whenever you stepped on it.

I had enough guts to actually peer down the gorge; I wasn't afraid of heights. It looked like a gaping mouth trying to swallow me up.

"I can see why Spring said it was dangerous." I said.

"Yeah, we put one step out of place…" said Fang and he shuddered. Because of the steep and slippery rocks, we have to walk painfully slow. I almost lost my footing at one point. Eventually we find a hole in the ground.

"I think this is another way down." I said.

"Let's just hope we don't fall to our death." Fang said sarcastically and hopped into the hole. I followed suit. I fell only a few feet before I landed on more rocks.

"I see; we're even deeper into the bluff." said Fang.

The gorge's still there, I thought to myself as I looked down it. We were closer to the pit, but it was still there.

And so it went on like that. We would explore the bluff's cave until we found another hole. We would jump down, enter another part of the bluff and continue with the cycle. Until we reached the sixth floor of the dungeon we experience some technical difficulties.

We couldn't find the next hole. We even double check but still we couldn't find it. Fang looked around dejectedly.

"Should we turn back?" asked Fang anxiously. I pinched him on the arm in disapproval.

"Now that we're this far? Sorry, but no. There has to be another way to find the next hole…" I said firmly. It was then something seemed to catch Fang's fancy.

"What's-oh!" he said suddenly and darted off to the left.

"Hey, wait!" I called and ran after him. Sheesh for once in his life, could Fang just take a chill pill. I just can't run as fast. When I finally caught up to him, the Fighting-type was standing next to a narrow stone bridge.

"We could try crossing this. Otherwise, we'll have to either jump or turn back." said Fang. I started to get a bit uneasy. The bridge didn't look stable enough to hold both our weight. If we fell, who knows where we'll end up. The Emanation Pokémon seemed to notice my uneasiness. (Well, he could sense auras anyway).

"Don't worry, I'll go first to make sure it's safe." said Fang.

That was a bit generous, since he is heavier than me, I thought. Fang crouched, calculating the distance from here to there. Then he dashed across the bridge and hopped onto the other side of the gorge.

"Come on its easy!" called Fang and beckoned me to come.

Great, I thought. Now that he's on the other side, I have to go too. My legs aren't strong enough to jump across and I can't just leave him there. So, I spread my arms out and gingerly took a step. Some gravel fell, but the bridge didn't break.

"You're doing great, keep going!" Fang encouraged. I kept going for a few more uneasy steps. Suddenly, Fang's eyes widened in fear.

"Slash! Anorith behind you!" Fang shouted. I turned around and saw this huge, grey, shrimp-like thing with bulging eyes. And it had pincers as long as my arm. Before I had time to react, it dug one of its pincers into my tail. Instinctively, I spun around and clamped my jaws around its pincer.

Why I suddenly did that, I don't know. Maybe since that I've turned into a Totodile, I've probably picked up a few of its instincts.

Anyway, the Anorith shrieked and started to shake me around violently. It raised its free pincer and was about to slash my face. I noticed this and the human side of my head reacted. I let go of its pincer to avoid the attack. There were deep teeth marks in the pincer I bit. I attempted to scratch it, but my claws bounced off its hard shell.

The Old Shrimp Pokémon then shoved me with its entire body off the bridge! Luckily, I reached up with one of my claws and grasped the slippery overpass. The Anorith moved on and crawled towards Fang. I was about to warn him, but Fang suddenly dashed at a swift speed. towards that shrimp and bopped it in between the eyes with a paw. The Rock and Bug type dropped to the ground, stunned.

Quick Attack, I thought. My claws began to slip from the bridge. Uh oh. "Help!" I cried.

Just as my claws slipped from that rock entirely, Fang swiftly reached forward and flung me onto the other side. I landed with a hard thump on my back.

Owww, I thought painfully. When I finally recovered from that shock, I pushed myself back up and saw Fang looking at me with worried eyes. Small beads of sweat dotted his head.

"You okay?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah… just a bit surprised that's all." I replied. "How did you manage to pull me up like that?"

Fang shrugged. "I'm just full of surprises." he joked. I chuckled; it was funny because it was kind of true. The Fighting-type turned to look at the Anorith that attacked us, which was beginning to twitch.

"That's an Anorith. They like to live in damp places like Drenched Bluff. I don't know how much longer that shrimp's gonna stay stunned, so let's get outta here." So, the pair of us left that Anorith and continued to look for the next hole.

xxxxx

As soon as we were as far as possible from the Anorith, I found the next hole. For some reason, this hole was… glowing? Fang and I hopped down the hole and landed in a completely different place.

The pit of the cave had a bunch of smooth, grey rocks stacked atop one another to make sort-of a small hill. A large pool of shining, crystal clear water was on the top of theses stones, some of it trickling down the sides. Small trees and scrawny bushes surrounded this "hill". The air also had a fresh scent to it, like a forest after a rainy day.

I looked up and saw that the roof of this place had a crack that let in light. The gorge, I thought in surprise. So this is where it leads to. And we could've just climbed down, I thought.

"I found it!" Fang's voice brought my back to reality. He walked up to me and showed me a large, round, pink jewel.

"The pearl!" I heard myself say. "Finally…."

"You must be tired. Let's go back to the guild and report that we found Spring's pearl." said Fang.

xxxxx

Later at the guild…

A very happy Spring was bouncing around and squealing with joy.

"Oh thank you, thank you, and thank you a million times over!" squealed Spring to me and Fang. Spring had a small grey body, the top a pig with a pearl on her head. The bottom was a spring, which she needed to bounce on to keep her heart beating.

"The pearl is now safe a top my head." the Spoink continued. "Oh, how I was quite a wreck without it! But now, thanks to you two, that long disaster is over! Again, thank you!"

The Bounce Pokémon then walked up to us and dropped a pouch at our feet. Curios, I picked it up and opened it. Inside were gold colored coins with the letter P on them.

"In there is 2,000 Poke. Spend it wisely." Spring explained.

Fang was beginning to spazz out. I was too. "T-two-thousand dollars! All for us!?" Fang squeaked excitedly.

"Yes, of course! Consider a token of my appreciation. Farewell, and hopefully we may meet again" said Spring and she left. Fang seemed to be on the brim of excitement and he was still spazzing.

"We're rich! We're rich! Just like that!" the Fighting-type exclaimed, snapping his fingers at the word "that". We began to squeal and hop around the room like 3-year olds.

Chatter, who was there the whole time next to the Job Bulletin Board, clicked his tail feathers in delight. "Nicely done, getting the assignment done without getting yourselves killed." Chatter said good humouredly. I chuckled. Chatter then walked over to us and said, "Now hand over the money, if you please."

Fang and I were shocked as the Music Note Pokémon took the pouch from us.

"WHAT?!" Fang and I screamed at the same time in disbelief.

"Well, most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster to help pay for food, repairs, and other things of the sort." Chatter explained as he counted the coins. "And your share comes out to this much." He handed us the pouch back. To my dismay, it was lighter. Fang quickly opened it up and counted the Poke.

"_What?!_" the Fighting-type exclaimed in disbelief. "We only get to keep 200 Poke? And after all that hard work! Unfair!" Chatter shrugged. Clearly, he was used to this kind of complaint.

"Sorry, but rules are rules. Unless you want to complain to Guildmaster about it."

Fang looked down at his paws. "Humph." He muttered.

xxxxx

A sweet ringing sound filled the air around us. Fang and I were just climbing down the ladder and were heading to our room when we heard it. I then saw a blue, wind-chime shaped Pokémon (whose name I later learned was Chime) come from the mess hall.

"Everyone, dinner's ready!" she said in a sing-song voice. Everyone who heard Chime screamed with delight and raced to the dining room. Delicious smells wafted in the air.

"Ugh, I 'm starving!" I exclaimed.

"Mmmm… I can't wait to sink my teeth into a juicy apple." Fang chimed in. The two of us raced towards dinner.

Inside the dining room, there was a large oak table with two long rows of chairs. There was so much pushing and fighting for seats, Fang and I had a tough time trying to look for a place to sit. Finally, we both found a place at the end of the table for both of us.

Once everyone was settled, Chime came around using her Psychic attack to dish out portions of berries, apples, pastries, and other yummy things onto everyone's plate. As soon as I got my portion, I was so hungry I began to wolf down all the berries and pastries.

I noticed Velvet balancing an apple on his head. It didn't seem like he was trying to eat it, just playing with it. Sometimes I just can't help thinking he's a bit… strange.

Fang and I were able to share a few scraps of conversation, but we were mostly concentrated on eating. I even called for seconds. After what seemed hours of food heaven, it was time for bed.

We walked over to our room and I plopped down on my straw bed.

"Wow." I said. "I never knew exploring would make you so hungry." I stared at the moon. It always seemed to be full. Fang was lying down on his bed with his hands behind his head and legs crossed.

"Listen, Slash…." Fang whispered.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Wasn't today hectic? My Arceus, so much has happened."

"I'm just glad we didn't get killed on our first assignment. I hope I never have to almost fall down another gorge."

"Yep, that was pretty scary."

"I'm still kinda ticked at how Chatter took our money and only gave us 200 Poke…."

"I guess that's just the cost of our training. Me and you can't do anything about it."

"Unless you became Guildmaster that is."

Fang chuckled good naturedly. "You know, I was pretty happy when Spring thanked us. She must've been pretty happy." he said.

Ya think? I thought. "It feels good to be apprenticed." I said instead.

"Yep."

Silence.

Fang stretched and yawned. "I'm getting sleepy. We'll do even better tomorrow. Night, Slash."

"Night."

(End of Ch. 5, **PLEASE REVIEW!** Thanks for reading!)


End file.
